Title Theme Tune

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

"Power Rangers RPM, Get in Gear!
Power Rangers RPM, We Stand Together!
Power Rangers RPM, Get in Gear!
Power Rangers RPM, Get! In! Gear!"

—Take a wild guess...

"For those of you that walked in late,
Allow me to reiterate,
The title of this movie
Is Spy Hard!"

For some reason, the folks who make children's shows think that their audiences will forget what show they're watching during the Title Sequence. As a result, many children's shows feel the need to repeat the title of the show in the Theme Tune as many times as possible.

May also incorporate a popular Catch Phrase from the show.

This does not necessarily preclude the theme song from being catchy or even good, but it does make it difficult to detach the two. Particularly in kiddie shows, the practice helps to cement the name of the show and its merchandise in the minds of the little viewers so they can nag the parents for the toys later.

Can easily overlap with the Expository Theme Tune. Compare Title Drop.

Examples of Title Theme Tune include:

Anime

  • While not as common in anime these days (a few still do it), it was more or less a regular thing during the 1960's and 70s', just like it is in America now. In the 70s, some subversions, and even aversions started coming up. That is, while the song may be named after the show, it may not necessarily contain the entire title, or it may omit the title. For example, the song is called "Cutey Honey", but the closest it comes to containing the title is when it refers to the character "Honey" by name, and also when it incorporates her transformation phrase ("Honey Flash!"). Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999 have theme songs named after their respective shows, but do not contain the actual titles of the shows in their lyrics. Instead, they merely describe what they are talking about.
  • As you go-go-GO, Astro Boooooy!/Testuwa-n Aaaatomu! The Trope Maker, at least for anime.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh and Yu-Gi-Oh GX (at least in the dub).
    • Averted Trope with 5D's, but we had to fight for that one.
    • The Italian version of the 5D's theme has YU-GI-OH! in pretty much every line of the chorus, and at the beginning: "Yu-Gi-Ohhhh! Your still fighting for... Yu-Gi-Ohhhh! ... Fighting for your life! Yu-Gi-Ohhhh!" and so on.
  • Onegai My Melody does this in some seasons of the show, such as Kuru Kuru Shuffle, where they sing "Onegai My Melody!" and "Kuru Kuru Shuffle!" At the end of the Onegai My Melody Kirara★ theme, they sing "My Melody!"
  • Same goes for every opening of Pokémon.
    • The themes for Battle Dimension, Galactic Battles, and Sinnoh League Victors are less like this, though they still have to Title Drop at the very end to remind us that we're watching Pokémon.
    • The openings for Master Quest, Advanced Challenge, and Battle Frontier also, said phrases only mentioned once throughout the song.
    • Same goes to the Japanese opening too. Some of the opening are a few exceptions such as Best Wishes and Spurt.
  • The dub for Dragon Ball Z puts even less effort into it: "Dragon, Dragon, Rock the Dragon, Dragon Ball Z." Followed by some rock music, then more Dragons. (Later re-airings of the dub replaced the opening with an Instrumental Theme Tune).
    • And the least said of the French theme tune (itself also eventually replaced), the better.
    • But lots can be said about the extremely catchy Italian theme tune ("What's My Destiny Dragon Ball").
  • The original Anime Theme Song of The Big O consists mostly of "Big-O!" repeated over and over to an auditory homage to Queen's "Flash Gordon", with three lines of actual lyric ("cast in the name of God, ye not the guilty, we have came to team") in the middle. There's also a line or two of Japanese that borders on Expository Theme Tune. (Swear an eternal oath/to this city that lost all of its past./Light a light in a lonely heart/Dying me with words.)
    • The second tune had less repeating of the name of the show, but was an auditory Homage to UFO
  • The first three seasons of the Digimon dub had a similar theme for all three seasons, changing only a few words. "Save the digital world" became "Save and defend the world", etc.
    • While seasons four and five eased up on this trope quite a bit, season five still references the whole title ("Digimon Data Squad") in its song.
      • While not entirely a Title Theme Tune, the "Digirap" that opens the first dub movie repeatedly repeats the title, most especially the "digi" in the title, making it something of a Hurricane of Puns using the show's title.
  • Every single season of the Pretty Cure franchise.
  • Lupin the Thi-ird! Lupin the Thi-ird! Lupin, Lupin, Lupin, Lupin...
  • Macross, Macross dodedoodedoo MAAAACUUUROSSSS
  • Almost every show licensed or created by 4Kids, one exception is the Mew Mew Power theme tune. Which actually, isn't that bad.
  • "She is the one named Sailor Moon!"
  • The dub of Dinosaur King: Dinosaur King is what you want to be, yeah. Ironic in that being the "dinosaur king" is actually what the villain wants to be—the protagonists just want to prevent him from obtaining (and abusing) the dinosaurs.
  • Samurai Pizza Cats
  • Naruto's German opening is an odd example.
  • GA-GA-GA GA-GA-GA GAOGAIGAR
    • Actually, recall ANY 70s or 80s-era giant robot series! Yep. Name's there, too!
  • "Itooshi Hito No Tame Ni" ends with "... mugen heto, hirake Fushigi Yuugi!"
  • ...whoaaaa, Gatchaman! GATCHAMAN!
  • A few psuedo-Ominous Latin Chanting tracks on the Escaflowne soundtrack have lyrics that consist solely of repeating the word "Escaflowne" over and over again.
  • "So-nic's on the run! So-nic's number one! So-nic's coming next, so watch out for Sonic X!"
    • Another version of the theme tune takes this trope Up to Eleven, whereupon the entire song solely consists of only the title.
  • "Maya, Maya the Bee!"
    • The Japanese version also sort of did this with its theme song.
  • Gigantor! Gigantor! GIGAAAAAAAAANTORRRRRR!
    • "BYUN! to tondeku Tetsujin... NIJUU-HA-CHI GO (28-go)!"
  • And of course we CAN'T forget: "Go Speed Racer, go Speed Racer, go Speed Racer GO!"
    • "Mahha (Mach) go go, mahha go go, Mahha go go GO!"
  • "We're off to outer space! We're leaving Mother Earth! To Save the human race! Our...Star...Blazers!
    • "Saraba Chikyuu yo! Tabidatsu fune wa... Uchuu Senkan... YA-MA-TO!"
  • "Ken! (Ken!) Survivant de l'enfer! Ken! (Ken!) Souvent croise le fer! Ken! (Ken!) Dans la chaos d'espirit! Ken! (Ken!) Contre les fous les bandits" (from the infamous French dub of Fist of the North Star, a.k.a. "Ken le Survivant").
  • The Mysterious Cities of Gold. True for most version, including the French, English or Spanish ones.
  • One cannot possibly forget "Fly! Gundam" from Mobile Suit Gundam. It even includes such lines as "Tobeyo GANDAMU / Kido senshi GANDAMU! GANDAMU!" ("Fly Gundam! / Mobile Suit Gundam! Gundam!"). This English version (effectively a professional fandub) is quite badass, considering the 70's campiness of the original.
  • Another Western Animation trope present in Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.
  • The famous theme song for Space Battleship Yamato drops the name of the series several times.
  • The opening of Cardcaptors, the Nelvana dub of Cardcaptor Sakura. Also an Expository Theme Tune.
  • The ending credits of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea uses the titular song "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea".

Films -- Animation

Films -- Live-Action

By the way, if you walked in late, allow me to reiterate:
The name of this movie is Spy Hard!
You're watching Spy Hard! It's the theme from Spy Hard!


Live-Action TV


Music

  • The Backstreet Boys hit Everybody (Backstreet's Back).
  • Parodied in Tom Lehrer's "Oedipus Rex" (from An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer). In his spoken-word introduction, he explains that he feels the 1957 film version of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex did not fare well with audiences because it "did not have a title tune which the people could hum, and which would actually make them eager to attend this particular flick". He then attempts to "supply this need" with a "prospective title song.
  • Hey Hey, we're The Monkees...and people say we monkey around..." (already mentioned under Live Action TV Shows, but the band made a full-length cut on an album of the theme.)


New Media

Samurai Jack? Samurai Jack? Who Jacked Jack?
Look out!
Samurai Jack? Samurai Jack? Jack Jacked Jack?
Jackity jack, jack jack jack, jackity jackity! Jacky jacky Jack!
Jackity jack, jackity jack, jacky jack jack!!
Look out!!
Jacking jacking jackity jackity, ja-jack jack jack!!
Jackawa jack! Jack jack jack! Jack jack jack!!
Jacka jacka jack jack jack jack jack! JACKITY JACKITY JACKITY JACK!
Jack jack jack jack jack jack jack jack! Jack jack jack!? JACK JACK JACK JACK JACK JACK JACK JACK JACKITY JACKITY JACK!!!
JACK JACK!!!
JAAAACK!!
Jack? Can you hear me? JACK?! JAAAAAAACK?!


Puppet Shows


Video Games


Web Original

  • In this episode of The Angry Video Game Nerd, a theme has this; this song is about "shitty" games for Spider-Man and how it sucks his "spider-balls." The song also has James' song, called the Angry Nerd.


Western Animation

Note that almost every western animated series does this. However, if you are looking for specific examples, read on...